


My Heart Beats For You

by Ellienerd14, feathertail



Series: Co-writing [2]
Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, Second Date, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, cinema date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-08 00:07:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8821741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellienerd14/pseuds/Ellienerd14, https://archiveofourown.org/users/feathertail/pseuds/feathertail
Summary: Matteusz and Charlie grew up never understanding the black marks on their wrists. But now, together, might they discover the meaning?





	

Matteusz had never understood his soulmark. Supposedly it was his soulmate's name, inked on the underside of his wrist, but he couldn't understand it. He'd thought perhaps it was another language, another alphabet, but none on earth matched the script etched into his skin. He wore a skin-coloured band over it usually, to prevent awkward questions or teasing. His parents didn't mention it, and so in return neither did he.

He rubbed his soulmark nervously, the place where the band would be, but he'd dropped it in mud earlier, and there was no time to wash and dry it before he needed to be out of the house before his parents got back, and so as not to be late for Charlie.

Their second date. It seemed daunting now, but when he saw Charlie, it would all fade away. He shook off the nervous rubbing and raised his fist to knock at the door, fidgeting from foot to foot as he waited for Charlie to answer it, running a hand through his hair and slightly messing up the styling.

\-----

Charlie straightened his shirt in the mirror. Matteusz was important to him and somehow despite the chaos he wanted to still be with him. Most people had run away at prom. Not Matteusz though. He stood by Charlie's side the whole time, not even scared off by the idea of him being alien. The next day of school it was like everyone had forgotten anything happened. Or at least all seemed to agree to pretend that it didn't happen at all. Charlie had been afraid that Matteusz would follow this unspoken rule of just carrying on as normal. But he hadn't. The tall boy had come up to him and asked him on another date. Charlie hadn't even thought about it before he agreed. He liked the way Matteusz made him feel. And while kissing was more of a human tradition than a Rhodian one, Charlie was hoping they could indulge in it again together. None of the shows he had studied humans from seemed to give how wonderful kissing was justice.  
"The Polish one is at the door." Quill was staring out the window watching as Matteusz fidgeted. "Are you keeping him?"  
"Hopefully." With an excited smile, Charlie opened the door. "Hello." 

Matteusz glanced up and smiled brightly. "Hello," he returned happily, stepping forwards and cupping Charlie's cheek, leaning in to press their lips together softly. "I am glad you said yes to go out with me again," he murmured once he had pulled back. "I was not sure you would but I am glad you did." He stepped down and held out his hand. "Are you ready?"  
Charlie took it, interlocking their fingers together. Holding hands with someone was new to him but nice. Being with Matteusz was always nice. It made his stomach flutter. Butterflies April had called it. She had said it meant he like Matteusz. (It seemed strange that humans liked the idea of muscles contracting in their stomachs and compare it to bugs. But Charlie wasn't going to judge.) 

"I am ready. But I don't know where we are going? Another formal dance?"  
"No," Matteusz smiled fondly, tugging Charlie down the path with him, away from Quill's watching eyes. "I am taking you to the pictures. You have seen television, yes?" He chuckled briefly. "This is television but bigger. Much bigger." He waved his free hand to try to demonstrate how big. "You will like it, I hope."

The idea seemed intriguing. And humans did seem to have an obsession with television. Maybe that's why they were so slow in development.  
"Can I still hold your hand when we watch?" Matteusz' smile widened at Charlie's request. Maybe he thought it was funny? "Why are you looking at me like that?" 

Matteusz chuckled, bringing their clasped hands up so he could kiss Charlie's knuckles gently. "Because you are beautiful and adorable, and of course you can." He squeezed Charlie's hand to demonstrate the fact. "You can always hold my hand. I will never protest." He smiled fondly at Charlie, directing him to a small, family-owned cinema he knew of. He picked up their tickets and escorted Charlie to their seats, all without letting his hand go. He sat down on the two-seater couch he'd booked for them, tugging Charlie down with him, and curled his arm around his waist, pressing a kiss to Charlie's cheek with a soft hum as they waited for the movie to start.   
  
Charlie looked up at the taller boy and smiled. There was something about Matteusz that always made Charlie want to smile. While he wasn't entirely sure where exactly they were - although Matteusz had mentioned something about a film earlier - it was cosy and comfortable. Especially when Charlie was so close to his date. The date was going well and at least it didn't seem very likely the Shadow Kin was going to ruin another one of their dates.  
  
Matteusz pressed his lips to the top of Charlie's head, smiling softly. Then the movie started, and he shifted so Charlie wouldn't get uncomfortable. He'd deliberately picked a light-humoured movie, no death or destruction, a bit of romance, but mostly just comedy, in the hope that Charlie would enjoy it. And while he himself certainly enjoyed the movie, most of the time he spent watching Charlie watch the movie, a fond smile playing across his lips.  
  
The film was interesting. Charlie still didn't completely understand human culture enough to understand the whole plot but there was something about the way they portrayed love that was endearing.  
  
What had really caught his attention was how the main characters had similar words to his own written on their skin. It was a name too. Someone had called it a soulmark. For Charlie, the word was new. He'd have to research it later when he was alone. Not that he wanted to be alone. Not with Matteusz still holding onto him.  
  
Matteusz pressed a kiss to the top of Charlie's head when the film credits finished rolling. "Come on," he murmured, reluctant to leave himself. "Everyone else has left." He rose slowly and took Charlie's hand to pull him up, and walked out hand in hand with him. When they stepped outside, a brisk wind blew in their faces. Matteusz glanced at the time, realising it would only get colder as they walked back. And Charlie hadn't brought a coat.  
  
"Here," he shrugged off his own jacket and held it out to Charlie for him to put on. "I am used to the cold." He was so focused on Charlie that he didn't comprehend that his wrist, and therefore his weird writing soulmark, was on display.  
Charlie couldn't help smiling at Matteusz' offer. He didn't think people actually offered their dates jackets in real life. Maybe it was just Matteusz. "Thank you." 

Matteusz wrapped it around Charlie's shoulders. He was taller than his boyfriend, meaning the jacket was too long. But it was much warmer. And Charlie’s butterfly feeling had returned. Matteusz offered out his hand again, still smiling at Charlie like he was the most important person in his life.  
  
But the prince wasn’t focused on his boyfriend’s smile. Or his offer to hold hands again. It was the writing on Matteusz’ now exposed wrist that caught Charlie's attention. It was written in the language of his home planet.  
  
Matteusz followed his eyes to the writing and quickly hid his arm behind his back. "I- it is meant to be my soulmark," he admitted quietly. "But it is not a language. I have looked it up many times. My parents- we do not speak of it. I usually have it covered, but the band I use to hide it- I got it dirty, so I could not wear it." He ducked his head, scuffing his shoe on the pavement. "I am sorry I did not tell you. I feel like I should have."  
  
"I'm sorry but I don't know what that word means. Humans- I mean people use it a lot but I don't quite understand." Charlie wanted to get another look at Matteusz' wrist but he was keeping it hidden. "If you don't want to explain it to me, I can look it up later." The subject seemed sensitive to Matteusz. And Charlie didn't like seeing him upset. But still - the strange words he had grown up with seemed eerily similar to the human idea. Not that it made sense exactly why it was on a Rhodia.  
  
Matteusz pulled a slight face as he struggled to explain. "Soulmarks... well, for humans, we have a soul's mate. And a soulmate is someone who is perfect for you, who you can connect to without needing to speak, someone you have an immediate connection with. With humans, we have a soulmark, on our wrist," he reluctantly showed his own again, "which is our soulmate's name. And if they have our name on their wrist, then you are soulmates. It is highly improbable for someone to not have a mark, and it is not recorded of someone with a mark like mine. So my parents hated me for this, before they knew I liked boys." He sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets.  
  
"But…" Charlie wasn't sure where to start. The brief glance that Matteusz had shown him was enough to confirm he had seen it back when his home was in Rhodia. And if what Matteusz had said was true, that the name was supposed to be of a special person, why was he upset. He seemed to like Charlie enough. Matteusz looked up hopefully as he started to speak.  
"But it is a language. Can't you read it?"  
Matteusz shook his head, pulling his wrist out of his pocket again and examining the writing. "I have tried to translate it but it does not translate. You can read it?" he asked, confused, looking from the black script to the blue of Charlie's eyes. "I- I don't understand."  
"Well, it's written in Rhodian. It is the language I grew up reading. I thought I'd never see it again." Charlie was hit by a wave of nostalgia as he thought of his home planet.  
  
Suddenly everything started to make sense. He had forgotten about the TARDIS translating things in his head until now. "Oh-"   
"What?" Matteusz asked. "What does it say?" He had a wild hope, and it made sense, but he could only hope... it wasn't like Charlie had a soulmark, did he?  
Charlie traced the writing with a finger, sending a shiver down Matteusz’ spine. "My name. Technically my title as the prince of Rhodia."  
  
Matteusz looked like he was about to smile. But something still seemed to be troubling him. He was ecstatic that Charlie appeared to be his soulmate, and another soft tingle ran down his spine as Charlie continued to caress the writing with a fingertip.  
  
"Do- do you have a mark?" he asked softly, catching Charlie's hand but not trying to look. He'd never force anything, and he'd been dreaming of a similar moment his whole life. The moment he finally discovered his soulmate. "I- I don't mind if you don't. I just- I would like to know.”  
Charlie hesitated. "I'm not sure. I think so - back home I had a strange mark I didn't understand. And after I moved here I forgot about it."  
  
He played with the hem of Matteusz' jacket. As a prince, he had been raised to behave properly, no fidgeting allowed but there was so much resting on the name he would finally understand. "I cared about you before I knew about this."  
  
Matteusz nodded. "I did too, Charlie. This will not change how I feel about you, except possibly make my care for you grow." He leaned down to gently brush their lips together, then pulled back. "May I see?"  
  
Charlie nodded. If the tale Matteusz had told him was true - one of a natural connection from the very start - he was sure they were soulmates. Like fate had pulled them though galaxies to be together. It sounded much more promising than the countless marriage alliances his mother had suggested before…  
  
Trying to escape his darkening thoughts, Charlie looked from Matteusz to his arm and rolled up the jacket sleeves. Matteusz looked too, brushing a gentle thumb over the black ink-like smudge before leaning to press a kiss to it when he recognised his name. When he straightened, he smiled softly, and took Charlie's hand to place it over his heart.  
  
"My heart beats for you, my soul's mate," he murmured, a cheesy line from the movie but true nonetheless.  
Charlie smiled but reluctantly pulled away, keeping their hands intertwined. He wasn't going to be letting go any time soon. "We should head back soon. I don't want you to get in trouble again." Charlie still wasn't sure what being grounded meant other than not seeing Matteusz. And he wasn't letting the other boy go anywhere. Especially as he starting to understand their connection.  
  
Matteusz nodded slowly, leaning in to softly kiss his boyfriend, his soulmate, before leading him towards home. "Do you have anything you do not understand? Anything you want to ask?" he murmured as they walked.  
"There are a lot of things I still do not understand." Charlie answered. Human courtship was still foreign to the prince, although after such an emotional and eventful night, he was starting to understand it a lot better. But there was Matteusz. And as Charlie leaned against his boyfriend, wearing a jacket too long and holding a hand that bore his name, he didn't need to understand everything. Not with Matteusz by his side.  
  
"But we'll figure them out together."  
"Always," Matteusz murmured, pressing a kiss to Charlie's temple as they walked, then raised their joined hands and kissed Charlie's knuckles. He smiled softly. Charlie was adorable in his jacket, and looked better than he himself did. "You are the best thing that has happened to me," he confessed quietly. Yes, his parents would consider it the worst thing, his soulmate being an alien boy (not that he would tell them) but they didn't matter. They could kick him out for all he cared. He had found the person he would grow old with. He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely avoided walking straight into a lamppost. He swore quietly in Polish and skirted it quickly, glancing at Charlie to see his response.  
  
Charlie hid a smile. Matteusz was cute (a human word he thought applied to his boyfr- soulmate perfectly) and luckily unharmed. "I have been though a lot. But in a way, I'm glad I ended up on here. I have you now." Charlie squeezed Matteusz' hand tightly, the human tradition was very much growing on him.  
Matteusz returned the squeeze with a fond, happy smile. "I am glad you are here too. I am confident that this is the happiest I have ever been," he admitted. He glanced up as they stopped at Charlie's gate. "I am glad of this, as well. I very much enjoyed this date, and I hope we will have many more." He smiled down at his soulmate. "May I kiss you again?" It was only polite to ask, and he knew full well that Quill could be watching.  
Charlie answered by leaning up on his tiptoes (he still needed to adjust to their height difference) to wrap his arms around Matteusz' neck and kiss him.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow." Charlie was reluctant to let go but it was getting late. And he didn't want Matteusz to get in trouble. Not if it meant that they'd have to spend time apart. "Maybe we could walk to school together?" he felt a little shy suggesting it, although he doubted Matteusz would say no.  
Matteusz didn't disappoint, smiling. "I would very much like that, Charlie. I will pick you up tomorrow morning? Eight o'clock?" He grinned a little, leaning to brush their lips together one last time before pulling back for real.  
  
"I will see you tomorrow," he murmured, stepping back and shoving his hands in his pockets as he reluctantly started to walk home. His last sight was Charlie, still wrapped in his jacket, and that alone made him smile enough that he could ignore his parents as they shouted at him for 'losing' the jacket and for being back late. He flopped back on his bed and flicked on his phone, smiling fondly at the lockscreen of himself and Charlie, taken before the fiasco of the prom. He sighed softly, and kicked off his shoes before curling up on top of his duvet, clicking the power button to light up the image again every time the screen faded to dark until he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to prompt me at my tumblr - feathertailsilverstripe.tumblr.com


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